Machine for bending staves



(No'M'odeL). I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. HIRSHHEIMER & O. M. MUELLER. MAGHINEFOR BEN-DING STAVES.

N0. 391,794.. Patented 0011 80, 1888.

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A.HIRSHH"EIM'ER"& O. M. MUELLER.

MAGHINE FOR BENDING STAVES.

Patented Oct 30, 1888 m M lnveniams.

' Aubert Mihhhdmarw l% CkaS. m WL1/UZ/LLQIJ MI 6% ALBERT HIRSHHEIMER ANDCHARLES M. MUELLER, OF LA CROSSE,

WISCONSIN.

MACHINE FOR BENDING STAVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,794, datedOctobe130, 1888.

Application filed December 1,1887. Serial 110,256,626.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT HmsHI-IEIMER and OIIARLES M. MUELLER,citizens of the United States, residing at La Orossc, in the county ofLa Crosse and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machines for Bending Staves,

and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to mechanism for bending stavcs and other similarwork, and its object is, primarily, to apply the power in such a mannerand at such points that the fibers of the wood shall be compressedlongitudinally at the same time and to the same extent that pressure isexerted in a lateral direction.

Another and important feature of the invention is in the construction ofthe former upon which the stave 'is bent, by means of which the stave isautomatically looked upon the same and securelyheld until it has beenpassed through ajointingmachine, bywhich arrangement the staveis jointedwhile rigidly held in the exact position it will occupy in the finishedbarrel.

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement of thebrackets upon which the stave is held during the process of bending, andin the former upon which it is retained after bending, as will behereinafter more particularly set forth and described.

The mechanism by which this invention is operated may be of anyconstruction suitable to the purpose. \Ve, however, make use of it inconnection with the main portion of the mechanism illustrated in LettersPatent No. 325, 542-maohine for inserting harrow-teeth granted to usSeptember 1, 1885, which consists of an upright frame-work, at the topof which is mounted a shaft carrying suitable driving-gear and havingpitman-connection with a presser block or die adapted to move verticallyup and down in ways attached to (Ya model.)

the main frame. It is therefore illustrated in such connection in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of theinvention, showing the parts in position for the bending of the stave.Fig. 2 is a similar view showing theposition of the various parts afterthe operation of bending has taken place. Fig. 3 is a partial side viewof the former and one of the supporting-brackets, showing the manner inwhich the stave is compressed longitudinally and looked upon the former.Fig. 4. is a detail view of the under side of the former; Fig. 5, a topview of the same; Fig. 6, an end view of the former, Fig. 7 is a detailview of one of the supportirig-brackets, and Fig. 8 a verticaltransverse section of the former.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in .all of the figures.

A is the main frame, in which rceiprocatcs vertically the presser-blockB, actuated by pitlnan-connection with suitable driving-gear located atthe top of the frame. Upon the front of the frame is a horizontal table,0, to which are secured, at suitable distances from the presser-block,the two stave-supporting brackets D D. These brackets are adjustablelongitudinally of the table 0, in order to adapt them to supportdifferent lengths of staves and in such a manner that the presscr-blockshall be over the middle of the stave when resting upon the brackets.The brackets are formed by casting and are constructed in two parts, theone part, E, composed of a bedplate, a, adapted to be bolted orotherwise secured to the table 0 and having two upwardlyextending armsor ears, I) b, of substantially the form shown in the drawings. Theother or movable portion of the bracket F is composed of a plate, 0,from which extend downwardly and backwardly two arms or ears, d d,similar to those upon the other portion of the bracket. Thecorresponding arms or cars of thc bracket are connected by a pivot orrod, 0, forming a hinge-joint of such a nature that the part E, beingfirmly secured to the table 0, a dowlr ward pressure upon the part Fwill causeit to tilt downward and forward toward the middle of thetable. The plate 0 of the tilting portion has previously been shaped.The cars (Zd eX-- tend somewhat above the surface of the plate 0, andare cut down perpendicularly thereto, so as to form a shoulder, f, atthe rear of the plate, against which the end of the stave may rest, and,in addition to the shoulders formed by the two cars at each edge of theplate,there is also an upright projection or abutment, g, in the middleof the rear edge of the plate for the same purpose. The tilting portionof each bracket is held normally in the position shown in Fig. 1 bymeans of a spring, h, underneath the same.

When the stave is laid upon the brackets in the position shown in Fig.1, its outer surface resting upon the plate 0 of the tilting .bracketand the ends of the stave abutting against the shouldersffand g,it isobvious that any downward pressure upon the middle of the stave willcause the tilting brackets to upset sufficiently to keep the shoulders ff and y constantly in contact with the ends of the stave. As thepressure is increased, the longitudinal distance between the abuttingshoulders of the opposite bracketsis constantly diminished,and apowerful pressure in the direction of the length ofthe stave isconsequently exerted upon the ends of the stave, which not only assistsin bending it properly,but also prevents any parting of the fibers fromthe strain.

In connection with the tilting mechanism above described we make use ofa former of peculiar construction, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but morein detail in Figs. 3 to 6, inclusive. This is also preferably formed bycasting,and consists ofa flat main or body portion, G, of somewhatgreater length than the proposed length of the stave to be bent upon it,and preferably only of such thickness as to give the requisite strength.Its lower middle por tion terminates in a broad curved surface, 2',convex both laterally and longitudinally on its under surface to conformas nearly as possible with the inner surface of a finished stave. Thisis the forming or molding surface. The ends is k of the former G extenddownwardly at an angle with the straight upper edge of the former, so asto form an abutment at each end of the stave when properly bent in aplane perpendicular to the surface of the stave. Upon the arms 7c aremounted double jaws or dogs Z Z, which are normally held projectinginwardly from the arms, upon which they are mounted by means of springsm in upon the outside of the arms Zak and connected with thejaws or dogsby passing through a slot, 12, in the arm connecting the two jaws on thesame arm.

The operation of this part of the mechanism is as follows: The stavebeing placed upon the tilting brackets, as shown in Fig. 1, the formeris caused to descend by the downward movement of the presser-block. Theforming-surface 73 comes in contact with the middle of the stave, and bythe continued downward pressure of the former and the upsetting actionof the brackets the stave is bent'to conform to the shape of the surfacet and the ends of the stave are brought within and made to abut againstthe inside of the arms is k. The slanting under surface of the dogs Z Zcauses them, upon contact with the end'of the stave, to retreat flushwith the inner surface of the arms 70 k, or sufficiently so as to allowthe end of the stave to pass by them. When the stave is sufficientlybent so that its ends have passed inside the dogs Z Z, the springs m mforce the latter back to their normal position, thus automaticallyandsecurely locking the stave upon the former, where it remains until itsfibers are set in the required shape.

The inner portion of the arms 7; 70 between the dogs is hollowed out, asshown at 0, Fig. 4, to admit the entrance of the projecting abutment 9on the tilting bracket, and the bracket is correspondingly hollowed outon each side of the abutment g to allow for the passage of the dogs onthe former in order that the former and the bracket may be completelyinterlocked without hinderance to the complete bending of the stave. Theshoulder 9 forms a support or abutment against the middle of the end ofthe stave-blank, and the difficulty that might be occasioned by thesplintering of the corners of theblank at the points of contact with theshoulders f f when pressure is exerted upon the blank by means ofthepresscr-die is thereby avoided. It also serves to retain the end ofthe blank, even when the same is very narrow, in such a position as todirect it within the arms 70 k of the former, and, entering within therecess 0 upon each of said arms, retains the blank securelyin placeuntil the endwise pressure thereupon is transferred to the arms k k ofthe former.

To attach the former to the presser-block, where it is held until theoperation of bending is accomplished, a holding-block, H, is pro vided.This is secured permanently to the presser-block, and consists of aplate with its lower edge curved to conform to the upper surface of thecurved platei of the former, and is provided with a spring-clutch, 19,upon one side. The upper fiat portion of the former is slippedunderneath the spring and retained in place by the pressure of the sameagainst the holding-block. Upon the upper edge of the holding-block H ashoulder is formed, against which the upper edge of the former abuts,and by means of which the downward pressure is communicated to theformer by the downward movement of the presser-block.

To retain the former in position against displacement in a longitudinaldirection, a lug, 7*, extends downward from the middle of the shoulderg, which fits into a corresponding notch, 25, cut in the upper portionof the former. The middle of the former is thus made to descend upon themiddle of the stave in every instance, thus insuring the perfect shapeof the stave.

Aside from that already described, the

former-has another important function, being used as a carriage forjointing the stave or upon which the stave is run through ajointing-machine in connection with our improved machine for jointingstaves, shown and described in our application for Letters Patent ofeven date herewith. For this purpose the upper edge of the formerterminates in a lip or flange, s, as shown in Fig. 6, which fits in agroove upon the jointing-table, therebyconstituting a carriage uponwhich the stave is immovably held in the exact position which it willoccupy in the finished barrel, thus making a perfectjoint. By thismethod we obviate the inaccuracy in jointing which takes place in theuse of other methods by reason of the springing of the stave whenreleased from the former.

By the means above described we are able to make a more perfect stavethan by any of the machines hitherto in use.

As many formers are used as may be necessary in order to allow thefibers of the stave to set after bending, and they are made of differentsizes to correspond with the different sizes of stavcs. After the staveis bent and locked upon the former, it is run through the jointing-machine, the former serving as a carriage for the stave. Noadjustment of the stave is therefore necessary in order that it may beproperly jointed.

This mechanism is equally well adapted for bending other articlesbesides staves, and formers of any desired forming-surface can be used,though it has been described with especial reference to that class ofwork.

\Ve claim as our invention 1. In a machine for bending wood, the pivotedbracket-section F, having shoulders f f and 9, adapted to abut againstthe end of the wood to be bent, substantially as and for the purposeherein described.

2. In a machine for bending staves, the pivoted bracket-section F,having the concave stave-supporting plate and abutmentsff and g, forminga shoulder at the rear of the same, and the downwardly and rearwardlyextend ing arms (1 d, and the pivot e, passing through the same andsimilar arms, I) b, on the other section of the bracket, substantiallyas specitied, whereby a downward movement of the supporting-plate causesa forward movement of the abutments.

3. In a bending-machine, the presser-block 13, means for actuating thesame in a vertical direction, the holding-block H, having springclutchp, a removable former earned by sa d holding-block, the table 0underneath said presser-block, and pivoted brackets F, adjustablylocated thereon at equal distances from the presser-block, substantiallyas and for the purpose herein specified.

4:. In a bending-machine, the presser-dle, the holdingblock H,permanently attached thereto, having shoulder q, lug 'r, extendlngdownwardly therefrom, and spring-clutch p, in combination with a formerhaving its up per edge shaped to conform to the shoulder q and lug 1"011 the holding-block, substantlally as and for the purpose hereinspecified.

5. In a machine for bending wood, the tilt ing brackets F F, havingabutmcnts g 9, 1n combination with the former G, having thedownwardly-extending arms k k, the said arms having their inner centralportion hollowed out to receive the abutments g g, substantially as andfor the purpose herein specified.

6. In a machine for bending wood, the former G, having convex surface 2'of the form to which the wood is to be bent, arms 7c 7r, substantiallyperpendicular to the forming-surface, carrying the spring-actuatedlocking-dogs Z Z, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

7. The former G, having forming-surface L, arms 7: k, substantiallyperpendicular thereto, provided with automatically locking and retainingdogs Z l, and the upper edge of the former terminating in a flange,substantlally as described, whereby the former may be used as a carriageupon which to joint the bent article.

In testimony whereof We affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

ALBERT HIRSHHEIMER. CHARLES M. MUELLER.

-Witnesses:

SARA L. Fox, HARRY Mnnsni.

